Price of Football 2017: Premier League clubs cut or freeze majority of prices

More than 80% of ticket prices in the Premier League have been either reduced or frozen for the 2017-18 season, the BBC’s Price of Football study has found.Average season ticket prices across English football’s top flight are at their lowest levels since 2013, having fallen for the second consecutive year following a record £8.3bn global TV rights deal signed last season.However, replica shirt prices have continued to rise in the Premier League this season, with the average adult shirt now costing more than £50 for the first time, while the average cost of a junior shirt has topped £40.

Now in its seventh year, the BBC Sport study requested information from 232 clubs across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Europe, which is a wider remit than any previous years.For the first time, we also asked clubs to provide information on whether they offer special ticket prices for young adult fans aged between 16-24.How much could you pay? Enter your team in the calculatorAnalysis: What does it mean for clubs and fans?Premier League away fans are still guaranteed to pay no more than £30 on their travels after a price cap was introduced last season.

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The average cost of the dearest adult away ticket comes in at just under £30, with some clubs opting for further reductions – Southampton charge £20 for all away fans visiting St Mary’s.Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Stoke, Watford and West Brom also charge less than the £30 cap.In a statement, the Premier League added: “This season, more than half of all Premier League tickets will cost £30 or less.”The hard work of clubs to make Premier League football available to a range of supporters, combined with the impressive commitment of match-going fans, has resulted in record stadium occupancy of more than 96% for three consecutive seasons.”The average cheapest season ticket prices offered by clubs is down, from £472.75 to £464. The most expensive average season ticket is also cheaper this season, down just over 2% from £864 to £843.58. That brings the average down to levels lower than in 2013.The average cost of the cheapest matchday ticket has increased from £29.05 to £29.30.Supporters are also paying more for food and drink at Premier League grounds.More than half of clubs increased the price of their pies, while the average cost of a cup of tea has also gone up.

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The Huddersfield effectNewly-promoted Huddersfield Town offer one of the cheapest season tickets across the English and Scottish leagues. More than 4,000 fans benefited from the chairman’s ‘Premier Pledge’ this year, paying just £100 to see all their home league games.When Dean Hoyle took charge of the club in 2009, he promised that fans who held season tickets during his time as chairman would pay the reduced rate for the card if the club reached the top flight.Huddersfield’s most expensive season ticket is £299 – the same as the cheapest season ticket offered by any of the other clubs (Manchester City) – but the majority of season tickets were sold for £199. At £199, fans are paying £10.47 to watch each Premier League home game at the John Smith’s Stadium.The Yorkshire club’s prices reduce the averages across the league, with their highest single ticket price for an adult home fan being £30 – the cheapest in this category in the league.The Terriers have however increased the prices of their cheapest home (from £15 to £30) and away single tickets, along with pies, programmes and both junior and adult shirts since last season.The Price of Football: Results in fullHow much do you know? Take our quiz

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What else did we discover?The cheapest day out in men’s football in England is at Liverpool, where a ticket, pie, tea and programme could cost as little as £18.40. That is thanks largely to the availability of 500 £9 tickets at Anfield for fans living in the L postcode area. Arsenal have the most expensive matchday ticket at £95.50 – but this has been reduced from last season. Their season ticket includes all home Premier League games and seven European and FA Cup games. The cheapest pie in the Premier League is at Chelsea, for £2.50 – but that has to be ordered through an app. The most expensive pie is at Tottenham, but the £4.30 price is set by Wembley, which is their home this season.As in previous years, three London clubs have the most expensive season tickets – Arsenal (£1,768), Tottenham (£1,700), Chelsea (£1,250) – but Arsenal and Tottenham’s have been reduced and Chelsea’s has stayed the same.Huddersfield’s £100 season ticket is bettered only by Woking and Sutton United in the National League, who offer fans a £99 season ticket. Boreham Wood also offered a much cheaper season ticket at £100 this season.Premier League clubs are continuing to see the benefits of their bumper TV deal – which includes £5bn for domestic rights and another £3bn globally. Each top-flight club will receive a minimum of £100m.In this year’s study, we contacted 232 clubs across 23 leagues in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and on the continent.We have analysed ticket prices in more categories this season too – cheapest matchday, dearest matchday, cheapest online, dearest online, cheapest away ticket, dearest away ticket, cheapest and dearest season tickets – as well as collecting data for the prices of teas, pies, programmes and junior and adult shirts.The cost of kitsThe cost of replica football shirts continues to rise, for both adult and junior ranges, by more than 2%. The average adult shirt in the Premier League will cost you £50.90, while the junior shirt average is £40.25.Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham sell the most expensive adult shirts at £60. Manchester United sell the most expensive junior shirt at £50.Burnley offer the cheapest adult and junior shirts at £40 and £32 respectively.By way of comparison, Aston Villa’s adult and junior shirts are the most expensive in the Championship, at £55 and £45.AFC Fylde in the National League and Sheffield FC Ladies sell the cheapest adult shirts across the leagues at £19.99.What about other leagues?The Championship’s average lowest matchday ticket price has fallen from £22.11 to £20.58. The average cost of an away ticket, though, remains the highest in any league in Britain.Matchday and season ticket average costs in League One have been reduced – for both the cheapest and most expensive ranges. In League Two, the average cost of both the cheapest and most expensive season tickets rose. Away tickets in the Scottish Premiership have increased, both in the cheapest and most expensive brackets. Season ticket prices have increased in Wales, but it remains the cheapest league to watch men’s football.How do European prices compare?Matchday and season ticket prices tend to be cheaper on the continent. You can pay as little as 15 euros (£13) to watch Bayern Munich, 12.50 euros (£11) for Ajax or 10 euros (£8.90) at Paris St-Germain. Juventus and Barcelona charge from 25 to 33 euros (£22 to £29) respectively.Replica shirts, on the other hand, can cost more in Europe. Bayern Munich, Juventus and Ajax’s adult shirts are priced at 89.95 euros (£80).Other Premier League offersAll of Brighton’s home and away matchday tickets and season tickets include travel to the Amex Stadium from within a designated travel zone.Leicester fans get free cupcakes for the chairman’s birthday and free mince pies at the home Christmas fixture.Spurs offer a Wembley Pass this season for fans who do not have a full season ticket and that gives them a discounted price for all home league games.Watford fans living more than 75 miles from Vicarage Road get to choose 13 of the 19 home league games for a reduced price.Food and drinkMore than half of clubs in the Premier League increased the cost of their pies. Only West Ham reduced the price. The average price rise for a pie this season is £3.65, up 4.58% – which is higher than the 3% rate of inflation for October 2017 as measured by the Consumer Prices Index.The average cost of a cup of tea at a Premier League ground is £2.12 – that is 3p cheaper than in the Championship. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United charge the most for tea (£2.50).
Source: BBC Hampshire